


Excelsius Dei

by leiascully



Series: The FBI's Most Unwanted [38]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Episode Tag, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-25 05:57:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4949278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leiascully/pseuds/leiascully
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"What if the mushrooms were helping?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Excelsius Dei

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: 2.11 "Excelsis Dei"  
> Disclaimer: _The X-Files_ and all related characters are the property of Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and Fox Studios. No profit is made from this work and no infringement is intended.

"Never put me in a place like that, Scully," Mulder said as they sat in the airport. 

"You're assuming we'll still be in each other's lives at the point someone needs to make that decision," she said. 

"Of course," he told her. "Didn't I tell you? My living will is specifically predicated on the possibility that I can continue to be a pain in your ass for as long as possible."

"That's good to know," she said, smiling wearily. 

He coughed, feeling like there was still water in his lungs. He hadn't inhaled much, but his breath still caught on a raw memory of wrongness. It was an easier souvenir to bear than he'd carried away from some other trips.

"What if the mushrooms were helping?" she asked. "What if we took that away from them?"

"You know better than anybody that you can't just give people medications or supplements without their consent," he said. 

"Especially when the substances in question haven't been evaluated by the FDA," she said. "There's no way to control or predict the interactions. Gung violated a number of regulations, though I'm not sure deportation was the right answer."

"We didn't take anything away from them, Scully," he told her. "Nothing they wouldn't have lost anyway. Drugged to the gills is no way to spend the last months of your life."

She shrugged. "Depends on the drug, I suppose." 

"I'm glad you're my doctor," he said wryly. "Make sure you give me the good stuff."

"We didn't solve the Charters case either," she said, her brow furrowing as she picked at a fingernail.

"We did something," he reminded her.

"Was it enough?" she said. "Was it the right thing?"

"Is it ever?" he asked. 

They sat in half-comfortable silence, waiting to go home.


End file.
